2009 Team 1 Trek Journal

Updates from the Mountain

Monday, September 14, 2009
Marangu Hotel, Tanzania, Africa

Feeling proud of their team triumph—ascending more than 19,000 feet to summit Mount Kilimanjaro—several of the Ascent team members shared their personal feelings over the satellite phone this morning.

“It was really tough,” said Salim Devji.  “The shortness of breath and the freezing temperature at the top, but it’s an incredible personal accomplishment.”

“We made this journey as a team, encouraging each other every step as it got more and more difficult,” said Lindsay Wilms. “At the summit we had a group hug and cried together.”

“Waking up and starting the final ascent in the cold and dark was an incredible challenge, but we made it and it feels great to be back on the ground again,” shared Rowena Anderson.

Gathering in the garden of the Marangu hotel this evening, the team, guides and porters had a celebration ceremony where the porters sang songs to the team, and the team members were presented with their summit certificates. Finally, there were many toasts to each other and their victory for Alzheimer’s disease.

“We’re just buying our fabulous porters a second round of beer and toasting them; we could not have done this without them,” said Dr. Susan.

The team develops a very close bond with the porters. Each team member has their own personal porter who carries their gear; another crew of porters carries food, cooking supplies and the camping equipment.

“Over the last week I have watched each of these people put their hearts into this trek for Alzheimer’s disease,” said local guide Seamus Brice-Bennett who has accompanied most of the Ascent for Alzheimer's journeys.

Many of the team members will travel or set out on safari before returning to Canada over the next few weeks.

We'll hear from Team 2 as they begin their journey on Wednesday, September 16.

These dusty feet (and gators) have finished an amazing journey!

Sunday September 13, 2009
Horombo Hut, Mount Kilimanjaro

The 2009 Ascent for Alzheimer’s Team One members have succeeded in their trek of Kilimanjaro in the fight against Alzheimer’s.

“That was the hardest thing any of us have ever done,” said Dr. Susan Hollenberg on the phone from the mountain after a 15-hour day.  She said the summit trek was "like doing the Grouse Grind for 7 hours in the middle of the night in the dead of winter, freezing cold with a headlamp and six-months pregnant," (an analogy that expressed for Susan how thin the air was.)

"But it was all so worth it in the end. And there were hugs and tears at the summit.”

After the exhilaration of the summit, the team members descended back down to Horombo Hut, passing the main glaciers that edge down the slopes of Kibo: Heim, Rebmann, Decken, and Arrow.

The weather was just above freezing, but it was very clear and not windy. “The view on the way down was spectacular, like a picture postcard,” said Susan.

After breakfast, the team hiked a further 22 km to finish their descent, arriving in the evening at Marangu Gate, where they traveled back to the Marangu Hotel by jeep.

“This group was amazing; they persevered through shortness of breath, headaches and more,” said Dr. Susan.

Ascent for Alzheimer’s is a unique event that requires an enormous team effort. The level of commitment from the trekkers, and the team of porters and guides who make sure they make it to the top, make this amazing event possible.

“The journey for these people starts long before the mountain—the training, the fundraising, the support of their family, friends and colleagues—then finally facing the mountain,” said Sandra Girard, the event organizer from the Alzheimer Society.  “For many, this experience has brought out strengths they didn’t know they had.”

We next speak to the team from Marangu Hotel on Monday, September 14.

Thursday September 10, 2009
Mawenzi Tarn, Mount Kilimanjaro

The Ascent camp is set up on the shore of Mawenzi Tarn—the only alpine lake on Mount Kilimanjaro’s slopes—with the jagged peak of Mawenzi towering above them. They will spend two nights here in order to acclimatize before summit night.

“Yesterday was a long day hiking — 9 hours — so we are very happy to be here for two nights,” said Dr. Susan on the satellite phone.

Nearing the summit of Kilimanjaro, the lungs can only absorb half the amount of oxygen compared to sea level. Even simple tasks such as walking twenty paces to the bathroom can be exhausting at this height. 

“Five team members had altitude sickness yesterday, but today they’re feeling better thanks to the medications,” said Susan. 

The team often describes the food on the mountain as deluxe. “We just had spaghetti bolognaise and stuffed eggplant for dinner,” said Rowena. “We have soup as a starter even way up here, and the porters make popcorn for us while they’re setting up camp.”

A group of 35 porters carry all the bags, set up camp and cook for the hikers and guides.

“As we hike along the path the porters are teaching us Swahili,” (the language of Tanzania and Kenya) said Rowena.

Each year at the send off party in Vancouver, the Ascent team is presented with a friendship walking stick, handcrafted by local artist Chris Knowles, to accompany them on their mountainous journey; a challenge that reflects living with dementia.

“The friendship walking stick has been a great companion,” said Rowena. “We all take turns carrying it; Frederick was carrying it today.”

Frederick, a Tanzanian mountain guide, has accompanied every Ascent for Alzheimer’s team since the event’s beginnings in 1998. This year his twenty-one-year-old son, Emanuel, has joined the team as a porter.

As they proceed higher, the team will pass through semi-desert progressing into total desert and finally into an alpine region with permanent ice glaciers. The higher slopes are covered with scree, loose stones resembling gravel, making it more difficult to negotiate.

Tomorrow the team will move onward toward Kibo Hut at 15,400 feet. Passing Mawenzi, they will enter the Saddle—a desolate stretch of alpine desert that stretches toward their goal of Kibo peak in the distance. The team will arrive at Kibo Hut mid-afternoon, and will rest until midnight, when in the darkness, they will begin their ascent of Uhuru Peak.

“We’re feeling very strong and are a very cohesive team,” said team member Aly Devji.

Visit http://www.ascentbc.ca/ to read posts from the team. 

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Tuesday September 8, 2009
Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Africa

The 2009 Ascent for Alzheimer’s team set out this morning from the Marangu Hotel, and traveled by jeep over the dusty dirt road, for two and a half hours, to Nalemoru Gate and the Rongai trailhead.

Click for a larger version

Beginning their ascent at 6,000 feet, the team is taking the Rongai route up the northeast side of the mountain. On Day One, they made a three-hour trek, on a small winding path that crosses maize fields before gently climbing though rocky pine forests and moorland dotted with heather. The trail is not at all steep, but is rather a gentle hike through beautiful country.

“It was a fantastic first day, everything is perfect and the team is really jelling,” said team physician Susan Hollenberg. “Poli-poli (Swahili for slowly, slowly) is how we’re approaching this.”

Experienced Kilimanjaro guide, Seamus Brice-Bennett, who has led many Ascent journeys, is accompanying both teams up the mountain this year.  A couple of other groups have passed the Ascent team, but a slower approach to Kilimanjaro has ensured Ascent’s high success rate since its inception in 1998.

“Everything seems really normal, as if we’re doing a training hike on Whistler mountain,” says the Society’s own Rowena Anderson.

“We saw Colobus monkeys along our route,” said doctor Susan Hollenberg.

The ancient volcano now lying dormant, Kilimanjaro rises from plains at approximately 6000 feet, to its summit, Uhuru Peak at 19,340 feet.

The Rongai route provides nearly constant views of Mawenzi and Kibo, two of Mount Kilimanjaro’s three peaks. Uhuru Peak, where the Ascent team will summit, sits at the top of Kibo.
                         
The team will spend their first night on Kilimanjaro at First Cave, at about 8,500 feet. The porters built the team a toilet, and put up their tents.

“It’s actually quite posh so far, the porters do everything for us and the food is excellent,” said Lindsay Snell, “I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to regular camping.”

With the success of Day One completed, the team is relieved and relaxed.

We’ll hear from the team next on Thursday, September 10th from Mawenzi Tarn (14,200 feet).

For more updates from the mountain, visit http://www.ascentbc.ca/ to read posts from the team.
 

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Monday September 7, 2009
Marangu Village, Tanzania, Africa

Today, the eight members of the 2009 Ascent for Alzheimer’s Team 1 are a step closer to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Having arrived, gear in tow, to Tanzania in eastern Africa the previous day, they  awoke in Marangu village to cool weather, with a daytime temperature expected to warm up to 26 degrees Celsius.

Everyone is very excited to start the trek. “We’re all feeling very positive here,” said Dr. Susan Hollenberg, the team doctor on the satellite phone.

Located on the north side of Mount Kilimanjaro, Marangu village is on the Tanzania-Kenya border and sits amidst rainforest and coffee plantations. It is the village—and specifically the Marangu Hotel—that is home base for our Ascent team.

“We spent the day touring the village of Marangu, including the school where we made a donation for school supplies,” said Susan.

Later, the team did a full gear check and met with Seamus Brice-Bennett, the team guide and the owner of the hotel, to go over their trip plan and review other necessary details.

“Seamus and everyone at the hotel is taking such excellent care of us,” said team member Lindsay Snell.

On day one, the team will start their summit of Mount Kilimanjaro setting out by jeep to Nalemoru Gate (6,000 feet) and then start their hike towards First Cave, where they’ll spend their first night on the mountain.

The Ascent  team is summitting Kilimanjaro via the Rongai route which means ascending the mountain from the northeastern side of the mountain, along the border between Tanzania and Kenya. This route retains a sense of unspoilt wilderness and offers a different perspective on Kilimanjaro by approaching it from the north.

The next call home from the team is scheduled for tomorrow after they settle in for the evening.

Visit http://www.ascentbc.ca/ to read posts from the team.

September 14 - Marangu Hotel

It takes relatively little time to get back into greenery during their descent.

The porters are with the team every step of the way.

September 13 - Horombo Hut

After many hours of walking, the sun begins to show.

The sun finally bursts out from behind Mawenzi as the team closes in on the summit.

Uhuru Peak - the peak of the 'roof of Africa'

The retreating glaciers of Mt. Kilimanjaro

September 10 - Mawenzi Tarn

Camp at the edge of Mawenzi tarn as seen from high above (during the day 2 acclimatization hike) Senecio (called giant tree groundsels) abound - here a climber poses along the path up to Mawenzi tarn.
Frederick with walking stick and Mawenzi in the background The slopes around Mawenzi give the team their first chance to walk on the scree they'll see on their way to Kibo peak.

September 8 - En Route!

Packing the trucks for the trip to the trailhead.

The first day's ascent is a gentle hike.

The first night on the mountain comes with a great view of Kibo.

September 7 - Marangu Village

Marangu Hotel

Children at the school in Marangu

Meeting Seamus - team guide and Marangu Hotel owner

Kilimanjaro beckons from the grounds of the Marangu Hotel